“Pérez, unsurprisingly, is a musically ravishing Mimi. She has sung both this role and Musetta at the Met before, but Mimi seems ideal for her voice, less a matter of range than key and color. She had a resonance and carry Wednesday that was impressive in itself and supported her shaping of timbre, width, and dynamics in long lines and sustained notes. This made “Si, mi chiamano Mimi” not just sonically beautiful but expressive and dramatic. Each inflection added another piece to the character.
Character was at the core of the evening. This was not just hearing a star like Pérez singing Mimi, it was seeing the character and being involved with her onstage. This was the measure of the artistry of her singing. ”
“The main reason to catch this revival is for soprano Ailyn Pérez’s sumptuous Mimì. Pérez has been singing the role for well over a decade now, and brings a wealth of dramatic and musical experience in the part. She’s been moving into bigger roles lately, adding Puccini’s Tosca and Butterfly to her repertoire, and her middle register in particular has filled out nicely, with a welcome glint of metal to her dusky sound. Her experience with the bigger Puccini heroines seems to have given her a greater expansiveness of tone and she took her two arias at a daringly slow tempo, expertly pushing and pulling the line… Pérez has a winning charisma that made it seem like the most natural thing in the world.”